SoCalHoops Recruiting News

West Coast All Star Camp Second
Session: Player Report No. 2--(July 28, 1999)

Well, it keeps getting later and later, and even if the Nike Summer Championships are going on right now, we won't get down there until Thursday or Friday (we'll have updates and reports, we just can't get there until later this week) so we're still going to plug away with all the rosters from the West Coast All-Stars camp, second session, in order to give our impressions of some of the players we watched; not every player, and not all in one report either, but we intend to write about as many of those who stood out or who we feel are worthy of note as we can.  This was a large camp, with more than 300 players, and we couldn't possibly have focused on more than half of them, or so it seemed at the time.  While we saw everyone in attendance play at least once, we're really only comfortable writing about those guys we saw play several times. 

This is the second installment of reports for this camp, and while there may be some references to games or tournaments (e.g., the Big Time) which took place after the camp, it's really intended just as an evaluation of what happened at the camp.  Keep in mind though that over the past three weeks, a lot of what we've seen has tended to blend into a giant blur, as we've gone from two sessions of   West Coast All Stars, to Rim Rattler, to WC All-Stars, to Vegas and then back to   Dominguez and Long Beach. . . Anyway, here are some of our observations.  This is Report No. 2:

Langston Grady (6'-5" Sr. SG/SF) John Jay--Langston was the big surprise of the camp and also the big surprise of Vegas and Best of Summer. He came out of nowhere (well, actually San Antonio, Texas, which is just a little south of nowhere), to impress just about everyone, coaches, players and everyone watching the camp and the tournaments.   Langston won the slam dunk contest at the camp.  He also impressed a lot of people when late one night during a practice for the Pump N Run Black team, after everyone else had left the gym, we all put down bets on how high he could jump.  He proceeded to show us all that when airborne he can touch not just the tips of his fingers, but his full hand above the box on the backboard.  He can jump, and we're talking major hops.   Langston also has one of the most automatic strokes on his j, that we started calling him "Mr. Automatic."  The Stanford coaches, all three of them, came to the Pump N Run Black games in Vegas to watch the Cravens, who they are eyeing for next year, and while they got their moneys worth from the twins, they and everyone else were suitably impressed with Langston.  Amazingly, he told us that he "never" shoots or plays the way he did at camp and Vegas for his school team, so there must be some really impressive guys on the John Jay squad.  We just have one thing to say to Jason Levy, the assistant coach from Portland:  High major, baby, high major.

Sidney Melvin (6'-3" Jr. G) Desert--Sidney was another pleasant surprise of the WC All-Star camp and in Vegas too, where he played with the Pump N Run Black team, which had the Craven twins, Derrick and Errick (6'-3" Jr. SG/PG), David Gale (5'-11" So. PG), Langston Grady (6'-4" Sr. SG), and several other excellent players.  Sidney is an active shooter with a good enough handle to play the point if needed, but his forte' was dropping the rock in from the perimeter, and using his great quickness and hands on defense.  Sidney's got one more year before he blows up, but college coaches should keep him on their list and watch his progress.  By the way, he's the son of an Air Force officer and lives on the Edwards base.  Sidney's "hobby" is working on jet fighters, cleaning and maintaining them, so maybe the service academies will want to keep an eye out for him too.

Teddy Boxberger (6'-5" So. F) Austin Westlake-- There were a lot of sophomores at this session of the camp, and Teddy, who was slated to be at Harvard-Westlake but has moved to Texas, where he will attend, of all places, "Westlake", was one of the more consistent players in the class. He made the Frosh-Soph All-Star game both sessions.  Teddy continues to get stronger, bigger and bulkier and now all he needs is to develop some quickness to go along with that size.  Nice shot out to 16', better from inside.  Plays at both ends of the floor.  A player to watch, he'll be at the Grand Finale this week. 

Branduinn Fullove (6'-5" Sr. SG/SF) Simi Valley--Branduinn really blew up, almost to the point that he exploded at the Camp.  He returned from ABCD, where he performed well, to turn a lot of heads at WC All-Stars.  Strong, reasonably quick, with a great three-point shot and good defensive skills, Branduinn will probably go mid- to high D-I major.  Stanford was originally among the schools recruiting him, but with the verbal from Matt Lottich, that interest seems to have waned;  he's still being pursued pretty heavily by Pitt, USCB, Pepperdine, St. Louis, and several other top D-I programs.   Oregon State has expressed interest but whether Branduinn is interested in them remains to be seen.  Played phenomenally well in Vegas with Pump N Run Gold, and at the Best of Summer too.  Smart (3.4 GPA), his sister currently attends Stanford, so that would have been a nice fit. . . who knows, maybe it will still happen.

Montel Duhon (6'-6" Sr. SG) Venice--Montel had an up and down camp, and like the camp, it seems that his recruiting is also up and down; several college coaches we talked to really liked him at times, and at times others didn't know what to think.  Montel is a very quick two guard with a shot that can best be described as not very pretty but effective; Montel is athletic enough to be a three in college, and defends well enough to play the position too, and he's a great rebounder, athletic, with great hops.  The coaches' packet says that he's got a 3.0 GPA, but he has yet to take the test. A very quiet, studious type, Montel is also one of the few high school guys we know who still takes the bus everywhere, which says alot about his tenacity and patience. Oh, and if it matters at all, he's the cousin of Chris Duhon (6'-2" Sr. PG) from Slidell, LA, who is one of the top UCLA targets this year.

Ricky Frazier (5'-8" Sr. PG) Ranier Beach-- Extremely fast, quick point guard, a true pass-first type of point.  Ricky has a great camp and an even better time in Vegas where we saw him knock down just about every one of his free throws. He's got a 3.0 GPA and there's little doubt that he'll get a high enough score to qualify, and like Lance Buoncristiani last year, he could end up at a D-I school, but he probably won't until later in the spring.  Some have said that Ricky could be a definite starter at the D-II or III level, and that's true, but we think he'd make a fine D-I low to mid point, a great floor general, excellent handle and good vision, who also defends.

Trennis Jones (6'-3" Sr. SG/SF) Westlake--we really didn't get to watch Trennis very many times, but what we saw was impressive. He's a stocky, strong player who has a nice shot, with a good high release and good rotation on the ball. He exhibited good fundamental skills, and some decent athleticism as well. He's from that "other" Westlake, the one in Austin, Texas that Teddy Boxberger will be attending, and we're not sure which Texas AAU team (if any) he played with and we lost track of him after the camp, so we can't comment on his recruiting. He professes a 3.3 GPA but hasn't taken the test yet.  From what we saw he's worth a look by some colleges.

Peter McCaslin (5'-11" Jr. PG/SG) Chadwick-- We highlighted Peter this past spring as one of the top sophs, and as a rising junior Peter has only gotten better. An excellent point/shooter, he likes to penetrate, dish and can also finish. Plays with the Total Impact team and carries a 3.8 GPA.   Peter had a good camp, and while he didn't play the point a lot here, he also impressed some of the coaches with his great shooting touch and range out to the three point line. Definitely a player to watch for next year's senior recruiting class.    

Gregg Guenther (6'-8" Sr. C) Taft-- Gregg has transferred from Crespi to Taft to play football, but that's old news, and it was old even two weeks ago during the camp.  What isn't old news is that Gregg will probably be playing football and basketball at USC, at least if the high-level word we're getting is accurate.  Gregg is just a huge force inside, who can rebound well, eats up space and outlets the ball better than just about any big man in the class.  Howard Avery, the coach of Pump N Run Gold, for whom Gregg played in Vegas and at the Best of Summer Tourney, described him as a guy who comes in and "just changes the game; he's an impact kind of guy."  Gregg must weigh about 240 or so, and most of that is pure muscle.  You can bet he'll be making his living playing on Sundays after he leaves college, and then who knows, there's always the movies. . . .

Damien Carter (5'-9" Jr. PG/SG) Richmond--One of the better combo guards, more of a point though at the camp. His small stature may present obstacles to being recruited highly at the D-I level, but his level of play could justify it.  An excellent handle with great ball control, he can drive, dish, penetrate, and change up speeds. He's got a fairly explosive first step, not enough to blow up the room, but good enough to blow by most defenders.  3.8 GPA and a 1050 SAT, and he's still just going to be a junior.

Josh Michael (5'-8" Jr. G) Central Catholic--Another excellent point guard (wow, this camp was loaded with good guards), who also has an excellent shot off the dribble and out to three.  He's small and has a slight build, but then so does Wesley Stokes. . . Josh plays up in Modesto, and we're not certain how much exposure he gets up there, but we'll be watching throughout the season.   A 3.85 GPA, so he should qualify.

Ronald Coleman (6'-9" Sr. C) Horizon--Ronald had an excellent camp, impressed a lot of scouts and coaches and he should be a good low D-I player at the very least if he qualifies (he's got a 2.7 GPA but hasn't taken the test).   Ronald is strong, big, but not overly muscular and a good weight and strength training program should do wonders for him in college.  Big rebounder and the ability to defend, he's not blessed with tremendous leaping ability, but he makes up for it with his long arms.  Played for the Alley Cats in Vegas, and after losing every game in their pool, they made it to the semifinals of the C Division, largely with some great play from Ronald.

Andre Hazel (6'-0" Sr. PG) Artesia-- UCLA should be recruiting Andre but they probably aren't at least based on a debate that we heard "in the abstract" about they types of players UCLA is/should be recruiting which occurred at the camp between one of the UCLA assistant coaches and Wayne Merino, the QBL/Artesia coach.  Frankly, we think that Wayne's got it right: UCLA probably needs not only a "scoring" point to replace Baron this year, and they don't have one, but what they really will need is a pure "pass-first" point who can not only score but capably run the offense and take over from Earl and Moose Bailey in the next few years. And besides, Andre can run the offense perfectly for Jason Kapono.  Seriously, Andre's reputation blew up big time at the camp, at ABCD and at Vegas and Best of Summer, and a lot of schools were asking themselves why they weren't on him sooner.  There probably isn't a better defender at the position in the class on the West Coast.  He's quick, tough, pushes the ball on the break, rarely turns the ball over, makes good decisions, and knows how to feed the big men.  What more can you want?  USC is reportedly on him, and he's getting serious looks from several other Pac-10's and other mid to high majors. A good shooter, rarely misses at the free throw line. Tremendous athletic ability. 

Jair Veldhuis (6'-10" Sr. PF/C) Tamalpais--Jair was probably one of the top two big men at this camp, and we're not sure who the other one was. . . Jair had some really sloppy games where he barely seemed to be walking on the first day and the morning of the second day, but then he just came alive and dominated every game for the rest of the camp.  The games we saw him play were well-attended by college coaches, including UCLA's Jim Saia, who was at just about every one of them.   Jair has tons of potential, and while he won't be a lottery pick out of high school, just watching him over a couple of games you see that he's got the skills and fundamental base, not to mention the necessary height and extremely long arms to make him a potential NBA player and a definite impact player at the high D-I level.  He's from Holland originally, and lives with his uncle in Marin County.  We talked with him quite a bit at the camp, about life in California, about his recruiting, and how he likes playing for Oakland Slam N Jam.  Candidly, he had a better WC All Stars camp than he did in Vegas, where he only played about half the time.  Jair is very mobile, extremely well coordinated for someone his size, and with his large hands, he can pin balls on the boards without really even jumping. Very high on UCLA's list right now, and with a lot of other Pac-10 schools.  The big question is whether he'll stay or return to Europe after high school.  We'd bet he'll stay. 

Lyman Edwards (6'-0" Sr. PG) Venice-- A transfer from Compton Dominguez where he got no respect and didn't play much, Lyman had a great camp and then played with Anthony Williams' Alley Cats team in Vegas and at the Best of the Summer where he continued to impress college coaches with his excellent guard skills. A great handle, pushes the ball and will penetrate and score if given the chance, Lyman's offensive skills probably exceed his defensive skills right now, but he's got the quickness and footwork to improve defensively as well.  A scoring point, he's got a good J.  With his skills he's got a shot at D-I, so he'll need to get it done in the classroom. One of our favorite players, very tenacious, a hardworking player with heart.

Nick Booker (6'-5" Sr. SG/SF) Bishops School--While Nick was listed on the roster of a team at WC All-Stars, we didn't see him at the camp.  Nick played for the On2Hoop Future Stars at the Rim Rattler Summer Showcase and at the Best of Summer, and we only caught one of his games.  Still a very strong presence, a good shooter, who will make a very athletic three at the college level, he's being recruited by a lot of schools, including some pretty high D-I majors.   We haven't heard from his mom in a while and didn't get to talk with him, so we really don't know the details of his recruiting right now, but he's certainly attracting a lot of attention.

Heath Bailey (6'-11" Sr. C ) Beaverton--Heath also played on the Pump N Run Gold team, along with Branduinn Fullove and Gregg Guenther, and he had a much better camp than he did in Vegas or at the Best of Summer, which was plagued with a lack of pt, and some issues between him and his coach from Portland.  Heath played very well, but isn't being recruited at the highest of the high D-I levels any longer, most likely because he wasn't getting the time in Vegas or BOS, but also because when he did get to play he was nervous, tentative and playing "worried" almost like if he made a mistake he'd get pulled.  We saw him play with the Pump N Run Black team (the II team) at the Best of Summer when they only had 5 guys (David Gale, Casey Cook, Langston Grady, Dustin Villapigue and Heath) in a morning game at Rolling Hills Prep against Esperanza, and Heath was great, probably because he wasn't worried about what anyone was thinking.  He's a good athlete, an excellent shot blocker who can dunk almost at will, but whose grades and qualifying may be an issue. He also likely will have to go to a prep school or sit out his senior season in Portland, or move to a state where he can get another year of eligibility, because he has already played four years in high school, due to his having to repeat the 9th grade.   Heath is currently petitioning for an extra year of eligibility, but if he doesn't get it, look for him to prep or just continue working out with Howard Avery. 

Kevin Eleby (5'-10" Jr. PG) Venice-- Kevin had a good camp, used his cat-like quickness to great advantage against bigger and stronger players and scored a lot, mostly off of drives to the basket and some pull up j's in the games we saw.  He also played for the Pump N Run Black team in Vegas, and while he saw only limited time, he also used his opportunities well.  Fortunately for Kevin, he's got another year before he becomes recruitable, so he's still got lots of opportunity to showcase his talents.  He's a slashing, scoring type of point, really more of a scorer than a playmaker, and with more height he could be a good two.  He is a great defender, with excellent lateral quickness and the ability to run the floor.  Nice, but funny looking J (it seems that funny looking shots run with the Venice players, like Montel Duhon's), he's still very effective from 15' and in to the basket.  Oh, and he's also one of the funniest guys we've met.  A great young man.

Samar Seay (6'-4" Sr. F) San Ramon-- A slender slasher with a very effective jumper from inside the lane or out to three, Samar really gets up with great elevation when he shoots; a good release, nice foot positioning, he does all the things college coaches will want in a two man. Decent rebounder, will need to put on weight and muscle at the college level, but shouldn't be overlooked by recruiters for that reason because he's among the better skilled players in the class.  A 2.9 GPA, no test score yet, but will probably be a qualifier.  Definitely worth a look during the year if coaches can get up to the Bay Area. 

Dustin Villapigue (6'-9" Jr. F) Simi Valley (pictured left)--Dustin has "transferred" from Rockfish to Double Pump's Pump N Run Gold team, and at the camp he looked to be just tuning up for what he'd be doing in Vegas and at the Best of Summer.  Admittedly not the No. 1 option in the post for the Pump team this summer (hey, he's still young, and there's always next year), we didn't get to see him in the games as much as we'd have liked, but when he was in he played great.  Dustin will, by the time he's a senior, be among the top power forward post-up guys on the West Coast.  Agile, strong, can defend and runs the court very well. 

Nick Enzwieler (6'-6" Sr. F ) Campolindo--Nick had a good camp, played well in Vegas, not real standout stuff that we saw, just well, doing what he does best, slashing to the basket, rebounding, and shooting the j, and when you think about it, what more can a college coach ask for from a strong, tough, quick 6'-6" potential college three man.  Didn't put up huge numbers, but then he's on a crowded team and with the ball-handlers and shooters like Joe See on Oakland Slam N Jam, any time he got the ball it was welcome relief.  Nick appears to be a full-qualifier, with a 2.5 GPA and a 950 SAT, and while it might not qualify him for a Rhodes Scholarship, he'll have a good selection of colleges to choose from when the summer evaluation period ends. 

Chris Hernandez (6'-1" Jr. PG ) Clovis West--One of our favorite point guards in the junior class, he could just be the No. 1 junior point on the West Coast, at least we have trouble thinking of anyone who has better all around point skills than he does.  Had a good camp, displayed a great handle, good decision-making skills, excellent defender, now if he'd only decide to finally move to Lakewood so that we can see him play with Artesia all the time, things would be great.  Oh, and he can bring along Charlie Rodriguez too any time.    Chris is also smart, really, really smart, and carries a 4.0 GPA, so you know that most of the upper-echelon high major academic schools will be all over him next year, especially Stanford, and maybe even Cal (yeah, we know Shantay's the man, but we're talking about a year from now) and UCLA if they don't land one of the big fish. . .

Coby Karl (5'-8" So. PG ) Milwaukee-- Coby didn't list his school when he filled out his information for the WC Camp, but then we know it's somewhere in Milwaukee, because he's related to someone who works there, having relocated from Seattle.  He's a slight, almost smallish young man, but he's got a surprisingly good shot for someone his size against the kind of competition he was facing at WC All Stars.  Of course everyone knows his dad, and the camp got to listen to George speak when Jerry West bailed out, er, um, got delayed.   Coby made the Frosh-Soph All-Star game, and it wasn't just because of his dad either; the young man can really shoot the ball.   

Charlie Kranzdorf (6'-1" So. SG) Montclair Prep--Charlie's second year at WC All Stars was a productive one. He's gotten bigger, stronger and quicker, and has a developing shot which he unfortunately didn't get to use too much at camp on a team which had some other outstanding shooters who were hogging the ball a bit (gee, what a concept. . . selfish players at an all-star camp!)   Charlie is young, so it doesn't make sense to talk about his potential for recruitment at this stage, and we'll just have to wait and see how big he gets; his father played at USC in the 1970's, so it may run in the family.  Time will tell.

Ryan Reyes, Jr. (6'-3" Jr. PG ) Artesia--Ok, so Artesia doesn't need another point after Andre Hazel graduates, because they've got Ryan, and Chris Hernandez can stay home in Clovis after QBL gets done with it's run this summer.  Ryan played well, very well in fact.  He's got excellent point skills, a good handle, pushes the ball and stays low and mean, making great entry passes to the big men.  He, Chris and Franklin Matos, along with Andre Hazel were an especially potent backcourt combination in Vegas and at the Best of Summer.  Look for him to play an increasingly important role with the Artesia Pioneers this coming season and get a lot more minutes than last year.  Great defender as well. 

Lee Biddlecome (6'-9" Sr. C) Carson-- Lee looked a lot better at the Pump Easter tournament than he did at the camp, and maybe it was because he was surrounded with way too much talent on Phil Bryant's "Iowa" team.  Yeah, sometimes it's possible to have too much talent in one place at one time, and Lee was a bit overshadowed, at least in our view and from what we saw.  He's a strong but lean guy, extremely mobile and agile but not an overly active post player, who rebounded effectively, and was sporting a new tattoo on his arm, and we're guessing from the looks of it that he's a soul-mate of Pamela Lee Anderson. . . or at least he wants to be. . . We also missed Lee in Vegas so we can't really update on his recruiting, but he would do very well at some of the WAC schools who were known to be looking at him before the July period opened.

D'Shon Cannon (5'-8" So. PG) Carl Hayden--D'Shon is very young and looks it, but he's a really high energy player, with quick hands, quick feet and a good handle.  Plays right out there on the edge of control at times, but usually manages to pull off a great move, an excellent pass, even had some nice entry passes to the post on a team with no real post player. We liked what we saw, and the best thing about him is he has two more years before getting recruited.  

John Davis (6'-0" Sr. PG) Lincoln--a 3.36 student from San Diego Lincoln, he also played with the Alley Cats in Vegas and at the Best of Summer.  John is quick, has a nice handle and loves to penetrate and drive.  A good defender, he should help Lincoln to a league title this year and a potential State playoff berth.  We're not real sure about his recruiting, so we won't comment.

Conor Famulener (6'-6" Sr. F) De La Salle-- A fairly big guy, Conor was invited to play for several club travel teams in Vegas but declined to return home to play with DeLaSalle in some summer leagues and tournaments.   Very mobile, runs the floor well, rebounds, and has good hands. We watched a couple of his games, and while we're not sure where he wants to go to college, at 215 lbs and with a 3.9 GPA, he should have no difficulty finding a spot on some team somewhere.

That's it for now with the 29 players in Report No. 2.  Upcoming:  Report No. 3 (another 20 or so players we saw), and then another two installments with about 20 players in each. Stay tuned.

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